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William Rhett
was a subordinate of Peter Ashe at Charles Town and commander of the city's militia. Biography Season Two When James Flint arrived at Charles Town to return Abigail Ashe, Rhett and his men meet him at the docks. They begin escorting Flint, Abigail and Miranda Barlow through the city to Governor Ashe. Rhett explains that before Lord Ashe arrived, the city's shipping was routinely assaulted by raiders, all up and down the coast. It took Ashe a while to learn how to deal with it, but things changed once he committed himself to fixing the problem. Lord Ashe made the people of Charles Town unafraid, and once they stopped fearing the raiders, they lost all their power. Rhett's men begin assaulting Flint and beat him until Abigail intervened, telling Rhett that Flint was actually an old friend of her father's. Rhett leads them to the Governor's Mansion, where Lord Ashe tells Flint and Barlow "welcome to Charles Town." Colonel Rhett stands guard while Captain Flint and Miranda Barlow meet with Peter Ashe discussing Flint's proposal to move forward with his plans for reconciliation between England and the pirates of Nassau. Ashe makes it clear the only reason they are sitting down together is because Flint brought Abigail back unharmed. He then says although they knew each other in the past, he does not recognize the two people that sit before him. Flint encourages him to ask any questions and promises he will be truthful in answering. When the subject of Alfred Hamilton is brought up, Miranda admits she is the one who arranged his execution. As she stands to admit her guilt, Rhett points his pistol at her. He says while Ashe may know them, he does not, and if they get any closer to the Governor, he will shoot them where they stand. Flint then asks that Ashe not judge him for his past deeds and instead offer him redemption. Flint then outlines his plan, stating most of the pirates will agree to stop pirating and work legally as merchant sailors. Ashe eventually agrees to consider the plan. Their talks continue well into the night, and Rhett remains at his post. Ashe has various misgivings about the plan. When it was first proposed by Thomas Hamilton, there were half as many pirates on the island and it was still a failing colony, not a failed one. Flint counters by pointing out that he proposed reconciliation to his crew of 100 men, and over 70 of them are with him in support of it. Furthermore, the trade boss in Nassau is actively working to reform Nassau with them. Most importantly, if Ashe endorses the plan, the New World's most committed pirate hunter advocating for a plan to reform the pirates of Nassau would give it enormous clout in Parliament. Ashe says that Parliament will need a candidate for the governor, and asks Flint if he wants that role. Flint says he can do much to help the newborn colony, but after that, it would be time for him to retire into the interior with Miranda. Abigail then arrives and tells them that Mrs. Tyler says it is time to turn the room over for supper. Lord Ashe then instructs Abigail to tell Mrs. Tyler to find rooms for Flint and Barlow while they wait. While Flint, Miranda, and Ashe are having dinner, Ashe orders Rhett and everyone else to clear the room. Ashe states that he has given it much thought and the only way for Flint's plan to work is that they both return to London together where Flint will confess his crimes and ask forgiveness from Parliament. He states that Flint must tell the whole truth including the relationship with Thomas Hamilton. Ashe believes that this will work because Parliament will see that the most feared pirate in the New World is not a monster, but a very flawed man. Flint agrees. Just then, Miranda realizes why the clock is so familiar to her: it belonged to Thomas and was in their home in London. Ashe admits that it was a gift from Alfred Hamilton. It is then revealed that Ashe was the reason behind all of their misfortune. Miranda realizes that James McGraw was well liked and had a good reputation among the Navy and that there must have been another reason why everyone believed the affair between him and Hamilton was true. She stands to confront Ashe with the accusations and states that he sold them out to become governor of the Carolina colony. Ashe says that he was forced to betray them because Lord Hamilton was threatening his family. Miranda becomes increasingly aggravated and says she would like Ashe to take responsibility for ruining her life and that he should be swinging from the end of a rope. Suddenly, she is shot through the head and killed by Colonel Rhett. Flint then attacks Rhett but is subdued and knocked out by Ashe's men. He was shot by a canon ball from the Spanish Man O' War, as Flint and Vane escape. Trivia *Colonel William Rhett was a real life pirate hunter operating near Charles Town in the early eighteenth century. He commanded the colonial militia, and died in 1722 of natural causes rather than by the death of a pirate. *He is most well known as the pirate-hunter who captured the infamous pirate Stede Bonnet. External Links * Category:Male Characters Category:Deceased Characters Category:Minor Characters Category:Characters Category:Historical Characters Category:Killed by Billy Bones